The Shah-nameh (The Book of Kings)Payal Patel, Kelsie Jones, Paul Zelenak,Katie Mulligan
History and Relevance Ferdowsi is one of the best known literary figures of Persia or now called Iran. He was born of a wealthy landowner and lived from 935-1020 C.E. Ferdowsi spent 30 years composing his poetic masterpiece, The Shahnameh. The Shahmameh, was written in the modern Persian language, and contains over 50,000 rhyming couplets, 62 stories, and 990 chapters. He began with the creation of the world, moving through history down to Persia of the 7th century C.E. Ferdowsi’s work was so popular because he brought back the pride to Persia that the Arabs and Islamic people took away when they took over. The Shahnameh is a book of Persia, Persian history, Persian culture, and Zoroastrian traditions, as well as Persian kings, heroes, heroines, villains and mythic creatures. Not only is The Shahnameh so popular just for the pride the stories bring but because Iranians are still taught principals that are relevant in the conflicts and histories of the stories. Every story has a moral teaching to them.
Ferdowsi wrote in the end of his Shahnameh: "I've reached the end of this great history And all the land will talk of me: I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save My name and reputation from the grave, And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim When I have gone, my praises and my fame.'"
Artwork
The artwork inspired by the stories were all two dimensional pictures and the western art consists of three dimensional pictures. Also the colors used in the pictures are not bright, they are more towards the dull side. The colors make the pictures look calm. Art is a representation of life. In the Shah-nameh inspired pictures the people are the center of attention, so representation of people was probably really important to many of the artists. (Then just show the pictures)
Shah-nameh Artwork The Story of Haftvad and the Worm
By: Dust Mohammad Scene of Faridun testing his sons.
By: Aqa Marik
The Feast of Sadeh
By: Sultan Muhammad Western Artwork Heading Home
By: Joelle Smith The Last Sunrise
By: L.D. Edgar
Heroes and Villains in the Shahnameh Kaiomers / Hoosheng / Tehmurasp / Jamshid / Zohak / Kavah the Blacksmith Faridoon and his Three Sons / the Heroes Sam and Zal / Zal and Rudabeh / Young Rustom / King Nauder Zal The stories of Shahnameh were written to tell the tales of past heroes in society. These stories tell how society learned their ways of agriculture, and use of raw materials. How they learned about religion and beliefs. The main characters of the Shahnameh helped develop new judgment and paths for society to follow. The stories also had connecting character jumping from one story to the next. Villains of these tales were pictured as half human half beasts, Having Snake appendages and monstrous descriptions. Villains Ruled with an iron fist making society unpleasant for society. Heroes in these tales were either great rulers or underdogs coming out of society and becoming great leaders. Women and children were depicted as normal people among society and didn’t seem to have any discrimination against one another. The Importance of the Story of Rostam and Sohrab The story of Rostam and Sohrab is very important to The Kite Runner. It is used to illustrate the differences between the characters of Amir and Hassan. In the Shahnameh story, Rostam is a heroic warrior who marries a princess and then leaves. The princess has a son named Sohrab who grows up to be a valiant young warrior just like his father. Sohrab yearns to know his father so he goes on a quest to find him. Not knowing who the other is, Sohrab and Rostam meet and fight, ending with Rostam mortally wounding his son. Only then do they find out that they are father and son. The story of Rostam and Sohrab portrays what it means to be a hero, as well as the consequences of dishonesty and selfishness. These are major themes in The Kite Runner and understanding the parallels between characters can help readers have a better understanding of Hassan and Amir. Many similarities can be seen between Sohrab and Hassan, as well as between Rostam and Amir. The story of Rostam and Sohrab is about heroism, which is demonstrated by loyalty, courage, honesty, and redemption. Young Sohrab is loyal and brave and does everything to find his father. Rostam is dishonest about who he is, which leads to the death of Sohrab. In the novel, Hassan is the hero who lives to serve Amir. Hassan is unyieldingly loyal to Amir and stands up for him no matter what. He protects him against bullies and is always pure and honest. Amir however, demonstrates the opposite of heroism when he betrays Hassan because of his own selfishness. The story of Rostam and Sohrab demonstrates how flaws like selfishness and dishonesty can have tragic consequences. The tragedy could have been avoided if Rostam had been honest. Tragedy could have also been avoided in The Kite Runner if Amir had been honest. The story is also very much about the relationship between father and son. It shows what lengths a son will go to gain the approval of a father. Sohrab destroys villages in a quest to get approval from his absent father and Amir betrays his loyal brother to gain approval from his father. The story also shows the price of being dishonest as a father. Both Hassan and Sohrab are betrayed by fathers they never knew because, though the fathers appear strong and brave, they are selfish and dishonest. The fathers are both strong men who seem heroic, but they abandon their sons, and in the end, it leads to the deaths of the sons.
Favorite Stories Paul Zelenak-The Story of Kaiomers (Gaiomard)
According to Firdowsi there was a tribe of people who later became the Aryans. The first ruler of this tribe was Kaiomers, also called Gaiomard and the dynasty he started is called the Peshdadian Dynasty (Peshdad means to give the Law). This tribe lived in the mountains about 10,000 years ago. At that time the people lived by hunting and gathering. They did not know how to farm but they had herds of sheep and cattle and they moved from one place to another in search for food for themselves and their animals. They dressed in animal skins and used bows and arrows and spears which were tipped with stone tips. They did not know how to start a fire or to work with metals.
Kaiomers was a very intelligent person. He made laws for his tribe to follow so that they could work together for the common good. Because of these laws the tribe became prosperous. There were other tribes around them who became jealous and started to harass them. Kaiomers’s tribe called them diws (wicked people).
To get rid of the harassment by the Diws, Kaiomers asked his son Saiamukh to lead an army to fight the Diws. In this battle the Saiamukh was killed. Kaiomers was very sad. Saiamukh had a son, Housheng, before he was killed. When Hoosheng grew up he asked his grand-father Kaiomers to give him an army to fight the Diws and avenge his father. At first Kaiomers refused because he was afraid that Hoosheng might get killed also but finally gave him an army to fight the Diws. In this second battle Hoosheng defeated the Diws, killed many of them, including their leader and drove them out of the valley in which they lived.
Hoosheng became king, when Kaiomers died.
The start of Agriculture, working with metals occurred in Central Asia about 8000 years ago.
Katie Mulligan - Rostam and Sohrab
Rostam is a renowned warrior. He stays a night in the Kings palace when the daughter of the King comes to him and expresses her admiration for the hero. They get married quickly, but then Rostam finds his lost horse and leaves. His wife has a baby boy named Sohrab. Sohrab grows up hearing of his father but never knowing him. He is not allowed to tell anyone who his father is because the great warrior has many enemies. Sohrab becomes an undefeatable warrior just like his father and goes on a quest to find him. He builds an army and challenges a King in order to meet Rostam, who will be called on to defend the Kingdom. They do meet, but Rostam does not disclose who he is and the two fight for days. Finally, Rostam mortally wounds the young warrior. In his dying words Sohrab tells Rostam how he was fighting to meet his father. He shows Rostam a pendant that his father left for him when he was a baby and that is when Rostam sees the grave mistake he has made. Sohrab dies and Rostam lives in agony knowing that he killed his son.
This is my favorite story from the Shahnameh because it is very suspenseful and sad. There are many little things that occur throughout the story that eventually lead to the tragic ending. The trouble could have been avoided so many ways at many different times but every time, something went wrong. It seems as if it was fate that it should end the way it did and I find that very interesting to think about.
Kelsie Jones - The story of Zal
Seistan, which is to the south of Iran, was ruled by Saum, the Pehliva. He was mighty and had much glory but he was childless. Then a son was born unto him, beautiful of face and body, and had neither fault nor blemish butt had hair of an aged man. When Saum beheld the baby he had anger and commanded his servants to take the child and cast it forth out of the land.
The Men took the baby to Mount Alberz, and upon it had the Simurgh, the bird of marvel, had her nest. And at the foot of this mountain they laid the child of Saum. Then the Simurgh, went down to earth, raised him in her talons and brought him into her nest so her young might devour him. But when she had brought him, her heart had compassion for him. Therefore she told her young ones to spare the baby and treat him like a brother. And thus the Simurgh took care of the baby until it was grown to be a youth full of strength and beauty. And his renown filled the land and his fame spread even unto the ears of Saum, the son of Neriman.
Then Saum called his army and set forth unto the mountains. Saum talked to the Simurghand she knew why he had come. The Simurgh let Saum take his son but told him that she would always be there for him.
Saum was amazed at how great his son was and he named him Zal. Then after, Zal increased in wisdom and strength, and his fame filled the land. And when Saum went to fight the battles he left the kingdom under his hands, and Zal administered it with judgment and virtue. http://classics.mit.edu/Ferdowsi/kings.3.zal.html
I chose this story because this was a good example of judgment. Because Saum was more worried about his son's hair color then seeing all the other great aspects in him, he missed a large part of his son's life. But since Saum made that mistake, Zal knew how being to judgmental has such a great affect on people's lives so he was not going to let that happen again.
I thought this story was a great story of fate. This story is a little similar to Oedipus Rex, and how fate comes chasing after him at the end. This story does a great job a getting the reader interested, and than slowly opens up the plot. The plot of the story gets interesting because the man who is supposed to kill Zohak is not even born yet, so Zohak rushes and kills Jamsheed's family. He feels like he has succeeded and one day he learns he has not, so he orders another attack. This story explains how no matter what one does fate is written, and what is bound to happen will ultimately happen.
The Shah-nameh (The Book of Kings)Payal Patel, Kelsie Jones, Paul Zelenak,Katie Mulligan
History and Relevance
Ferdowsi is one of the best known literary figures of Persia or now called Iran. He was born of a wealthy landowner and lived from 935-1020 C.E. Ferdowsi spent 30 years composing his poetic masterpiece, The Shahnameh. The Shahmameh, was written in the modern Persian language, and contains over 50,000 rhyming couplets, 62 stories, and 990 chapters. He began with the creation of the world, moving through history down to Persia of the 7th century C.E. Ferdowsi’s work was so popular because he brought back the pride to Persia that the Arabs and Islamic people took away when they took over. The Shahnameh is a book of Persia, Persian history, Persian culture, and Zoroastrian traditions, as well as Persian kings, heroes, heroines, villains and mythic creatures.
Not only is The Shahnameh so popular just for the pride the stories bring but because Iranians are still taught principals that are relevant in the conflicts and histories of the stories. Every story has a moral teaching to them.
Ferdowsi wrote in the end of his Shahnameh:
"I've reached the end of this great history
And all the land will talk of me:
I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim
When I have gone, my praises and my fame.'"
Artwork
The artwork inspired by the stories were all two dimensional pictures and the western art consists of three dimensional pictures. Also the colors used in the pictures are not bright, they are more towards the dull side. The colors make the pictures look calm. Art is a representation of life. In the Shah-nameh inspired pictures the people are the center of attention, so representation of people was probably really important to many of the artists. (Then just show the pictures)
Shah-nameh Artwork
The Story of Haftvad and the Worm
By: Dust Mohammad
Scene of Faridun testing his sons.
By: Aqa Marik
The Feast of Sadeh
By: Sultan Muhammad
Western Artwork
Heading Home
By: Joelle Smith
The Last Sunrise
By: L.D. Edgar
Heroes and Villains in the Shahnameh
Kaiomers / Hoosheng / Tehmurasp / Jamshid / Zohak / Kavah the Blacksmith
Faridoon and his Three Sons / the Heroes Sam and Zal / Zal and Rudabeh /
Young Rustom / King Nauder Zal
The stories of Shahnameh were written to tell the tales of past heroes in society. These stories tell how society learned their ways of agriculture, and use of raw materials. How they learned about religion and beliefs. The main characters of the Shahnameh helped develop new judgment and paths for society to follow. The stories also had connecting character jumping from one story to the next.
Villains of these tales were pictured as half human half beasts, Having Snake appendages and monstrous descriptions. Villains Ruled with an iron fist making society unpleasant for society. Heroes in these tales were either great rulers or underdogs coming out of society and becoming great leaders.
Women and children were depicted as normal people among society and didn’t seem to have any discrimination against one another.
The Importance of the Story of Rostam and Sohrab
The story of Rostam and Sohrab is very important to The Kite Runner. It is used to illustrate the differences between the characters of Amir and Hassan. In the Shahnameh story, Rostam is a heroic warrior who marries a princess and then leaves. The princess has a son named Sohrab who grows up to be a valiant young warrior just like his father. Sohrab yearns to know his father so he goes on a quest to find him. Not knowing who the other is, Sohrab and Rostam meet and fight, ending with Rostam mortally wounding his son. Only then do they find out that they are father and son.
The story of Rostam and Sohrab portrays what it means to be a hero, as well as the consequences of dishonesty and selfishness. These are major themes in The Kite Runner and understanding the parallels between characters can help readers have a better understanding of Hassan and Amir. Many similarities can be seen between Sohrab and Hassan, as well as between Rostam and Amir.
The story of Rostam and Sohrab is about heroism, which is demonstrated by loyalty, courage, honesty, and redemption.
Young Sohrab is loyal and brave and does everything to find his father. Rostam is dishonest about who he is, which leads to the death of Sohrab.
In the novel, Hassan is the hero who lives to serve Amir. Hassan is unyieldingly loyal to Amir and stands up for him no matter what. He protects him against bullies and is always pure and honest. Amir however, demonstrates the opposite of heroism when he betrays Hassan because of his own selfishness.
The story of Rostam and Sohrab demonstrates how flaws like selfishness and dishonesty can have tragic consequences. The tragedy could have been avoided if Rostam had been honest. Tragedy could have also been avoided in The Kite Runner if Amir had been honest.
The story is also very much about the relationship between father and son. It shows what lengths a son will go to gain the approval of a father. Sohrab destroys villages in a quest to get approval from his absent father and Amir betrays his loyal brother to gain approval from his father.
The story also shows the price of being dishonest as a father. Both Hassan and Sohrab are betrayed by fathers they never knew because, though the fathers appear strong and brave, they are selfish and dishonest. The fathers are both strong men who seem heroic, but they abandon their sons, and in the end, it leads to the deaths of the sons.
Favorite Stories
Paul Zelenak-The Story of Kaiomers (Gaiomard)
According to Firdowsi there was a tribe of people who later became the Aryans. The first ruler of this tribe was Kaiomers, also called Gaiomard and the dynasty he started is called the Peshdadian Dynasty (Peshdad means to give the Law). This tribe lived in the mountains about 10,000 years ago. At that time the people lived by hunting and gathering. They did not know how to farm but they had herds of sheep and cattle and they moved from one place to another in search for food for themselves and their animals. They dressed in animal skins and used bows and arrows and spears which were tipped with stone tips. They did not know how to start a fire or to work with metals.
Kaiomers was a very intelligent person. He made laws for his tribe to follow so that they could work together for the common good. Because of these laws the tribe became prosperous. There were other tribes around them who became jealous and started to harass them. Kaiomers’s tribe called them diws (wicked people).
To get rid of the harassment by the Diws, Kaiomers asked his son Saiamukh to lead an army to fight the Diws. In this battle the Saiamukh was killed. Kaiomers was very sad. Saiamukh had a son, Housheng, before he was killed. When Hoosheng grew up he asked his grand-father Kaiomers to give him an army to fight the Diws and avenge his father. At first Kaiomers refused because he was afraid that Hoosheng might get killed also but finally gave him an army to fight the Diws. In this second battle Hoosheng defeated the Diws, killed many of them, including their leader and drove them out of the valley in which they lived.
Hoosheng became king, when Kaiomers died.
The start of Agriculture, working with metals occurred in Central Asia about 8000 years ago.
Katie Mulligan - Rostam and Sohrab
Rostam is a renowned warrior. He stays a night in the Kings palace when the daughter of the King comes to him and expresses her admiration for the hero. They get married quickly, but then Rostam finds his lost horse and leaves. His wife has a baby boy named Sohrab. Sohrab grows up hearing of his father but never knowing him. He is not allowed to tell anyone who his father is because the great warrior has many enemies. Sohrab becomes an undefeatable warrior just like his father and goes on a quest to find him. He builds an army and challenges a King in order to meet Rostam, who will be called on to defend the Kingdom. They do meet, but Rostam does not disclose who he is and the two fight for days. Finally, Rostam mortally wounds the young warrior. In his dying words Sohrab tells Rostam how he was fighting to meet his father. He shows Rostam a pendant that his father left for him when he was a baby and that is when Rostam sees the grave mistake he has made. Sohrab dies and Rostam lives in agony knowing that he killed his son.
This is my favorite story from the Shahnameh because it is very suspenseful and sad. There are many little things that occur throughout the story that eventually lead to the tragic ending. The trouble could have been avoided so many ways at many different times but every time, something went wrong. It seems as if it was fate that it should end the way it did and I find that very interesting to think about.
Kelsie Jones - The story of Zal
Seistan, which is to the south of Iran, was ruled by Saum, the Pehliva. He was mighty and had much glory but he was childless. Then a son was born unto him, beautiful of face and body, and had neither fault nor blemish butt had hair of an aged man. When Saum beheld the baby he had anger and commanded his servants to take the child and cast it forth out of the land.
The Men took the baby to Mount Alberz, and upon it had the Simurgh, the bird of marvel, had her nest. And at the foot of this mountain they laid the child of Saum. Then the Simurgh, went down to earth, raised him in her talons and brought him into her nest so her young might devour him. But when she had brought him, her heart had compassion for him. Therefore she told her young ones to spare the baby and treat him like a brother. And thus the Simurgh took care of the baby until it was grown to be a youth full of strength and beauty. And his renown filled the land and his fame spread even unto the ears of Saum, the son of Neriman.
Then Saum called his army and set forth unto the mountains. Saum talked to the Simurgh and she knew why he had come. The Simurgh let Saum take his son but told him that she would always be there for him.
Saum was amazed at how great his son was and he named him Zal. Then after, Zal increased in wisdom and strength, and his fame filled the land. And when Saum went to fight the battles he left the kingdom under his hands, and Zal administered it with judgment and virtue.
http://classics.mit.edu/Ferdowsi/kings.3.zal.html
I chose this story because this was a good example of judgment. Because Saum was more worried about his son's hair color then seeing all the other great aspects in him, he missed a large part of his son's life. But since Saum made that mistake, Zal knew how being to judgmental has such a great affect on people's lives so he was not going to let that happen again.
Payal Patel- The Story of Zohak
Link to Story
I thought this story was a great story of fate. This story is a little similar to Oedipus Rex, and how fate comes chasing after him at the end. This story does a great job a getting the reader interested, and than slowly opens up the plot. The plot of the story gets interesting because the man who is supposed to kill Zohak is not even born yet, so Zohak rushes and kills Jamsheed's family. He feels like he has succeeded and one day he learns he has not, so he orders another attack. This story explains how no matter what one does fate is written, and what is bound to happen will ultimately happen.